2020-2021 Season
Season Plans
Welcome new and returning students, orchestra members, and HSO supporters!
For new students, we ARE still holding auditions, information available here.
Since the August 6 decision by JHU to be fully remote for fall 2020, we will engage in a range of virtual activities. We will act on them based upon student and community member interest, initiative, and available staff and resources. Opportunities open to the public will also be available and posted on our website and other locations. Below is a list of activities under consideration. If you have interest or ways to support these initiatives, please email hso@jhu.edu.
While we regret not to be rehearsing and performing on campus, HSO fully supports the difficult but necessary decision to function remotely, and we look forward to welcoming back musicians and audiences when it is safe to do so. Take care and be safe.
Watch Parties
- HSO members: we have been investigating potentially better platforms than FB. These watch parties will be geared towards interesting orchestral repertoire and are meant to be enjoyable–a way for everyone to connect over great music
- and for the broader public, external-facing watch parties, such as a rebroadcast of previous HSO video livestreams with Q&A after the viewing
Family Series
A show and/or series for families where we play YouTube clips, and then homemade videos of a select number HSO musicians demonstrating musical examples
Virtual Masterclasses
Virtual masterclasses, with outside guests and with Music Director Jed Gaylin coaching musicians
Piano Accompaniments
Piano accompaniments (limited in number), to be made available to interested students. We have a few videos which Jed Gaylin recorded of accompaniments for pieces that he can make available for people to practice with and perhaps record themselves in tandem with the video. For personal development or possible future presentation on virtual presentation platforms
Virtual Chamber Music
Opportunities for musicians to put together short chamber pieces, to record in their own spaces and to be mixed and put together for virtual performance
Sep 24 Thu HSO Evenings Part I – Elgar’s Enigma Variations: On Friendship and Being Connected @ Online Sep 24 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm 
Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations is a study in the friends with whom we surround ourselves, and who, in their reflections, show us who we are. This work is a series of 13 variations on the original tune that represents Elgar, shifting especially in character, mood, and color, to reflect the salient personality trait of each of his friends, who remain mysteriously unnamed. The finale is a kind of round-table banquet with them all gathered, cheering on Elgar, and reminding him—and us—of the power of our human bonds. Join Music Director and Conductor, Dr. Jed Gaylin (Peabody ’95), as we watch the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra’s performance with pauses in the music to discuss the work and performance considerations. This program will be presented on Zoom. A Zoom link will be provided to registrants in advance of the program.
Please, join us for Part II in the series, Symphonie Fantastique: Pipe Dreams and Obsessions, on Thursday, October 15th, and for Part III, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9: A Choral Symphony Discussed, on Monday, November 9th. Please, register for each program individually.
Got to https://events.jhu.edu/form/HSO1 to register.
Oct 15 Thu HSO Evenings Part II – Symphonie Fantastique: Pipe Dreams and Obsessions @ Online Oct 15 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm 
Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique is a piece both of its time yet timeless. Revolutionary in structure, scope, color, and story line, the work comes on the heels of the Napoleonic regime in a turbulent country. The piece is obsessive, outrageous, scary, and fun. Join Music Director and Conductor, Dr. Jed Gaylin (Peabody ’95), as we watch the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra’s performance and pause between movements to discuss the work and performance considerations. This program will be presented on Zoom. A Zoom link will be provided to registrants in advance of the program.
Please, join us for Part I in the series, Elgar’s Enigma Variations: On Friendship and Being Connected, on Thursday, September 24th, and for Part III, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9: A Choral Symphony Discussed, on Monday, November 9th. Please, register for each program individually.
Got to https://events.jhu.edu/form/HSO1 to register.
Nov 19 Thu HSO Evenings Part III – Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9: United Through Joy @ Online Nov 19 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm There is no piece like Ludwig von Beethoven’s 9th. Its scope is cosmic and its message earth shakingly optimistic. First performed in Vienna on May 7, 1824, the symphony is regarded by many critics and musicologists as Beethoven’s greatest work and one of the supreme achievements in the history of music. WBJC radio personality, Jonathan Palevsky, joins Hopkins Symphony Orchestra Music Director, Jed Gaylin, as as we watch video of the all-encompassing finale, pausing to discuss musical techniques and text in this still every surprising miracle of music. This program will be presented on Zoom. A Zoom link will be provided to registrants in advance of the program.
Please, join us for Part I in the series, Elgar’s Enigma Variations: On Friendship and Being Connected, on Thursday, September 24th, and for Part II, Symphonie Fantastique: Pipe Dreams and Obsessions, on Thursday, October 15th. Please, register for each program individually.
Got to https://events.jhu.edu/form/HSO1 to register.